1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to video games. More particularly, the present invention relates to a game apparatus and game control method for controlling magical ability, prowess and power of a player character in a video game, which constantly provides a representative indicator of such magical abilities, prowess and/or power on a video display apparatus, and wherein an unlimited amount of said abilities is constantly available to the game player, and therefore the player character. However, these unlimited amounts of abilities can inflict a detrimental effect on the player character based upon the current state of being for any given character thereby requiring that the game player balance these abilities for his player character based upon a desired or necessary course of action or need to achieve a specific result, which benefits the game player of the video game, regardless of whether the player character survives in a virtual basis on the video display apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Video games for home use were first introduced in the early 1970's. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's the industry saw substantial and profitable growth. However, in the late to mid 1990's and through-out the first decade of the twenty-first century the industry has seen incredible growth that has made the it into a $10 billion industry, which rivals the motion picture industry as the most profitable entertainment industry in the world.
Part of this explosive growth has been a result from moving away from PC-based games to those played on gaming consoles such as Microsoft's X-Box™ and Sony's Playstation™ as well as online gaming over the Internet. However, another large part of this expansive growth has been due to the realistic and near-virtual abilities of the games and the processing power of the gaming consoles. Even though many of the games employ abilities, which defy the laws of physics and actual human capabilities, the realistic graphics and visual effects continue to awe “gamers” to play these video games to ever reaching levels.
Many well known video games are based upon real characters from history, while others emanate from mythology, while still others are created as fanciful characters by gaming industry developers and story writers. In an attempt to make a game more appealing to gamers, new and innovative attributes of each game are constantly invented. These include the powers and abilities of both the non-player characters (also known as an “NPC”) as well as the player characters of the gamer (also known as the “avatar”).
Avatars are a video game player's representation of himself (an alter ego) in the form of a three-dimensional model in a virtual world. Avatars are the basis of computer role playing games (called a “CRPG” or more often just “RPG”), wherein the computer player defines his or her actions based upon decisions made from a selection of pre-defined choices within the game programmed by the game developers. However, as can be understood, the course of the game and the eventual goal or outcome of the game is essentially incalculable due to the fact that different computer game players will instinctively make different choices (also known as “character advancement”). Further, since the avatar is in a virtual world, the abilities of such can be endless and are only limited by the expansive imagination of today's video game programmers.
One well known example of a popular RPG wherein an avatar is used is the game entitled Grand Theft Auto™. In this game, the avatar more closely resembles the abilities of an actual real life person and does not possess powers that defy the known laws of physics. The avatar steals cars, using violence, and is constantly being chased by the police. However, in other games, wherein the laws of physics are defied, an avatar may have the ability to obtain magical power and to cast magical spells within a game as it progresses for the purpose of achieving some desired result. One such example is the game Oblivion™, which takes place in a mythological world full of demons and monsters in conjunction with human beings and various hybrids thereof. In games such as this, the types of magic that can be obtained and the spells that can be cast seem endless as new and innovative ideas continue to emerge year after year within the video gaming industry. Regardless of the magic obtained or sought after, almost all video games of this genre use a scenario wherein the game player must achieve some task. This may be to travel through some distance in real time, escape from a particular location, defeat an enemy or attacker, find some hidden box, chest or treasure or take away some power from another character, whether that other character is another avatar within a multiplayer game environment or whether he is a non-player character programmed within the game.
These magical abilities are typically stored by the avatar for later use, when needed. The use of such magical powers may require the casting of a spell by mixing together different ingredients obtained within the game or from merely using a device or an inherent power that is now part of the avatar's character. Examples of magical powers include, but are not limited to, making oneself indestructible against an enemy's power or some encountered natural environmental condition (i.e., freezing cold temperatures), making oneself invisible, throwing fire or other similar destructive natural occurring forces, moving objects out of the way, tele-transportation of oneself, shape shifting and temporary enhanced physical ability and stature.
A typical example of how magical abilities, along with health and fatigue, are represented in a video game power control program can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, appropriately labeled as “Prior Art.” As seen in FIG. 1, an avatar is represented having some amount of Health, Fatigue and Magical Abilities/Powers by horizontal bars, wherein the fully hatched bar of this black and white drawing represents “full” Health, Fatigue and Magical Abilities/Powers. In a game, these would be most often represented by color or shades of darkness to indicate a contrast so that it can be seen when a given level drops. In Prior Art FIG. 2, it can now been seen that the avatar is in combat with an enemy, wherein the avatar is sustaining injury and he is also using energy to fight. Therefore, his level of Health and Fatigue are dropping, and the hatching of this black and white drawing is now representing depleted levels of Health and Fatigue. Furthermore, the avatar is tapping into his reserve of Magical Abilities/Powers by casting magic against his enemy in hopes of defeating him. This too is depleting his level of Magical Abilities/Powers as can be seen in the drop along the respective horizontal bar. Again, in the video game on a display screen, these would not be represented by hatching but instead by color or contrast to indicate that these three attributes are dropping.
In these prior art games, it can be seen that these reserve levels are being depleted along a line through the use of a simple liner scale (i.e., the difference between two values is perceived on the basis of the difference in actual values). For example, in the prior art, use of a specific magical spell depletes his Magical Abilities/Powers by a certain pre-programmed set amount decided by the game programmers and developers. Since there is only a set of amount of magic that can be used, the avatar must be careful not to use all of his magical abilities since he may need more in his next enemy encounter. If he uses all of his magical abilities, but is successful in defeating this particular enemy before his health is fully depleted, he will need to scour for more magic to horde and he must do so with traditional combat abilities (i.e., in this example, with his sword alone). The linear scale approach to magical ability depletion, along with the limited amounts of magical power that is available and the need to find more magic before it can be used, is a serious limitation in all prior art video games and action power control programs. Improvement is clearly needed to enhance the video game experiences when operated in a virtual world on a computer or gaming console and displayed on a video screen that is connected thereto.